SAINT LOUIS (September 3, 2014) -- A draw is all he needs. Another win is all we want.

GM Fabiano Caruana extended perfection in the 2014 Sinquefield Cup, defeating GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave on Wednesday afternoon for his seventh win across seven rounds. The 22-year-old has now set a new record for the longest starting win streak in an elite tournament in the modern era, achieving the feat against five of the world's top-nine Grandmasters in the strongest-rated tournament in history.

With three rounds remaining, Caruana needs just a half-point to clinch the Sinquefield Cup's $100,000 first-place prize. The only remaining competitor with mathematical chances to catch the Italian is World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen, Caruana's eighth-round opponent on Thursday.

Carlsen (4/7) stayed three points behind the tournament leader with his seventh-round win over GM Hikaru Nakamura (2/7), who has fallen into sixth place with just four draws collected over seven rounds. GM Veselin Topalov (3/7) now holds clear third, one point behind Carlsen, after his draw on Wednesdayagainst GM Levon Aronian (2.5/7). Vachier-Lagrave and Aronian are tied for fourth.
Follow live coverage of the tournament with commentary by GM Maurice Ashley, GM Yasser Seirawan and CLO editor WGM Jen Shahade starting at 1:50 CST/2:50 EST at uschesschamps.com/live.